The Belair Lip Bombs w/ Burglar @ the Grand Social, Dublin, 1 Dec. 2025
If your first exposure to the Belair Lip Bombs was at the Grand Social on Monday night, you’d be mistaken for thinking they hailed from Dublin. There was an unreal energy and love in the crowd for the Melbourne outfit’s first ever show in Ireland.
With the band at the peak of their powers, having just released their second album, Again, to critical acclaim on Third Man, I’m confident that packed room is the smallest audience the Lip Bombs will play to from now. That sense of excitement for the group’s breakout was inescapable in conversations with others at the end of the show, as fans young and old fawned over one of Australia’s most exciting indie rock acts.
The band opened with “Again and Again”, the commanding first track from their new album of which they played in full. An epic song with an intense build, its intuitive singalong chorus invited two men from the sides to go absolutely wild in the front, a fun jaunt that warmed up those surrounding. As it turns out, they were part of the seemingly entire extended family of drummer Daniel that were in attendence — he noted his Irish ancestry on stage: “I’m one of you!”, which was met with a rapturous “wheyyyy!” With the energy of a heavy metal mosh pit, his uncles put smiles on the faces of those on stage and in the crowd.
As they powered through jangly fan favourites “Back of My Hand” and “Stay or Go”, you can’t help but wonder how, in such short time, they’ve effortlessly mastered the composition of catchy pop music.
Maisie took to the keys in “Burning Up”, one of the band’s most vulnerable songs, matched with an equally anxious but graceful stripped-back performance. “Cinema” followed: a bouncier pop track that makes for a great addition to their set list. Garnering the biggest applause all night was the lead single from Again, “Hey You”, which sees the frontwoman flex her vocal chops in a longing and powerful chorus.
On stage, all four are light on chat, but play incredibly well, and each of their individual skills were spotlighted in “If You’ve Got the Time”, which was rounded out with an extended jam. I loved the smallest details in their performances, like how Daniel would choke the cymbal almost every song to sound tighter. A special shoutout should go to guitarist Mike, who didn’t miss a note despite his broken leg, which also meant the band coudn’t leave the stage for the encore, and just stayed on.
The excitement they brought to the crowd is hard to fully describe, but maybe this tidbit will help illustrate what I’m getting at: during the set an older gentlemen hobbled to the front row, walking stick in hand, and without any exaggeration, started Slavic squatting and kicking as if by some miracle, he could throw away that old cane. It was an unreal moment.
Kicking off the “encore” was their debut album opener “Say My Name”, which saw the uncles reassume their positions at the front, dragging along younger cousins this time too. “Smiling”, the penultimate track, is a tender ballad about crushing, which united the crowd, arms around each other, in a wholesome front row display. Hearing this track live for the first time really touched me, and has renewed my love for the song.
To finish off the set, and their entire European tour, was “Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)”, what I believe to be the band’s best song yet. It starts restrainedly, before quickly building up with layers of guitars, backing vocal chants, and Maisie’s assured advice to “let out all the grief in your heart”, as the song sails into a climax that makes for one of the most satisfying tension releases I’ve heard all year. And the crowd, freely dancing and celebrating the end of the band’s journey, surely took on her guidance.
Set list (14 songs)
- Again and Again
- If You’ve Got the Time
- Back of My Hand
- Stay or Go
- Another World
- Price of a Man
- Gimme Gimme
- Look the Part
- Hey You
- Burning Up
- Cinema
- Say My Name
- Smiling
- Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair)
